Nim Programming Language Official Docker Images

Nim is a statically typed, imperative programming language that focuses on efficiency, expressiveness, and elegance. It is designed to be as fast as C and as readable as Python, while offering a powerful macro system for metaprogramming.

These images provide a stable, multi-architecture environment for developing and deploying Nim applications.

Key Features

• Multi-Backend Support: Compiles to C, C++, and JavaScript. GCC is included for native binaries.
• Precompiled Binaries: Built using official Nim binaries for maximum reliability and consistency with the upstream releases.
• Multi-Arch: Native support for amd64, arm64/v8, i386, and arm32/v7 via Docker manifests.

How to Use This Image

Compile and Run (C Backend)

To compile a file named main.nim:

docker run --rm -v "$(pwd)":/usr/src/app nim:latest nim c main.nim

To compile and immediately run:

docker run --rm -v "$(pwd)":/usr/src/app nim:latest nim c -r main.nim

Compile to JavaScript

To compile a .nim file to JS:

docker run --rm -v "$(pwd)":/usr/src/app nim:latest nim js main.nim

To compile and run, use a multi-stage Dockerfile with Node.js:

FROM nim AS builder
COPY . .
RUN nim js -o:app.js src/app.nim

FROM node:latest
COPY --from=builder /usr/src/app/app.js .
CMD ["node", "app.js"]

Managing Packages with Nimble

The image is configured with SSL support to allow Nimble to install packages from remote repositories:

docker run --rm -v "$(pwd)":/usr/src/app nim:latest nimble setup -y

To build a binary Nimble package:

docker run --rm -v "$(pwd)":/usr/src/app nim:latest nimble build

Understanding the Tags

We use a "floating" tag strategy based on Semantic Versioning. This allows you to choose between absolute pinning or automatic updates for patches and minor versions.

• latest: Points to the most recent stable release.
• 2: Points to the latest stable release in the 2.x.x series.
• 2.2: Points to the latest stable release in the 2.2.x series.
• 2.2.8: An immutable tag for a specific version.

Supported Architectures

This image is a manifest list. Docker will automatically pull the correct layer for your CPU:

• linux/amd64
• linux/arm64/v8 (e.g., Apple Silicon, AWS Graviton)
• linux/i386
• linux/arm32/v7

Maintenance

This repository is automatically updated via GitHub Actions. If you encounter any issues with the image structure or toolchain, please report them at https://github.com/nim-lang/docker-images/